Lady of Fortune, Jiao Niang

When she slept by Qi Yun’s side the last time, the internal heat in Qi Yun’s body shot up beyond normal range. Consequently, he had to stay indoors for almost a month to restore his health. Ye Jiao didn’t want him to go through the same again.

Beset by anxiety, ignoring all the irrelevant thoughts, she pulled herself closer to him and held the man’s wrist. Holding her breath, she cautiously began diagnosing his pulse. 

Dreading that she might misdiagnose, Ye Jiao gently touched Qi Yun’s neck and behind his ear, to re-diagnose his pulse.

It wasn’t until she was certain that there was nothing abnormal about Qi Yun’s condition did she stop her actions, and heaved a sigh of relief.

In retrospect, her reckless approach to treating Qi Yun’s illness might have been the reason for the latter’s high fever back then. However, currently, with the virtue of her care and cautious treatment over the course of the past few weeks, Qi Yun’s foundation has improved significantly.

Having carefully diagnosed him, she was certain that he didn’t have any abnormal symptoms even after spending a long night, making Ye Jiao feel genuinely relieved.

Feeling at ease, she finally relaxed her arms, allowing her soft body to plop directly on his.

She playfully poked Qi Yun’s chin, thinking to herself before leaning her head against her chest, ‘Fortunately, he hasn’t shown any sign of developing a fever. Even if I had scared myself needlessly earlier, it’s all for the best.’

Initially, she didn’t detect anything abnormal. However, not long after, his heartbeat audibly sped up.

Assuming that she might be pressing on him uncomfortably, she propped herself up and carefully tucked him in the quilt.

Seeing that the sky had begun lightening up, Ye Jiao quietly got up and draped an outer coat, without waking Qi Yun up. She tiptoed out from behind the thick curtains, relit the charcoal brazier to warm the room, and only then, with her hair neatly tied, did she leave.

However, as soon as Ye Jiao stepped out of the inner room, the man lying on the bed opened his eyes.

Yesterday, with Ye Jiao leaning against him, Qi Yun couldn’t bear to wake his wife, so he held her in his arms and lay down beside her. He intended to read his favorite novel but somehow ended up succumbing to dreamless and peaceful slumber.

There weren’t any dreams or seizures. Qi Yun felt as if he had experienced the sweetness of a deep slumberland for the first time in his entire life.

Having had a good quality sleep, Qi Yun woke up slightly earlier than usual. 

But as soon as he opened his eyes, he found himself embraced by warm, fragrant softness, causing his entire body to stiffen.

Although they shared the same quilt, Qi Yun acutely remembered that they had been lying flat and were separated by some distance before falling asleep. He couldn’t fathom how he ended up like this during slumber, waking up with the woman holding his wrist.

Qi Yun didn’t open his eyes; he couldn’t quite determine if he feared awkwardness or simply desired to prolong this tenderness. In any case, he chose to pretend to be asleep, much to Ye Jiao’s oblivion. 

As the woman lay on him, Qi Yun could even catch a whiff of the sweet osmanthus fragrance emanating from her body.

Osmanthus fragrance again, even though they didn’t eat any osmanthus-flavoured pastries yesterday… Ah, it must be the scented hair oil that Ye Jiao used—it had a hint of osmanthus scent. He had bought it for her as a gift.

Various distracting thoughts swirled in his mind, but his heart kept racing.

Even after Ye Jiao left, Qi Yun still felt his ears ringing with the thumping sound of his heartbeat, and his mouth strangely parched.

Taking a deep breath, Qi Yun sat up. However, when he lowered his head and lifted the quilt to take a peek inside, he quickly lay back down.

Qi Yun, the second son of the Qi family, prepared to stay put for a little longer so that Ye Jiao wouldn’t suspect anything amiss.

In contrast to Qi Yun’s nervousness, Ye Jiao appeared much more at ease and in good spirits.

The fact that they had spent a night together without him running a fever was a clear indication of his improving health!

Having been on the lookout for her husband’s good health, with Qi Yun’s body getting better and better, she was naturally delighted. 

She tied her hair into a bun, put on a lilac-colored robe, and since it was still early, Ye Jiao went outside first to check on the medicinal herbs and flowers she had recently planted.

As soon as she stepped out, she saw Fang-shi standing by the courtyard gate with little Shitou in her arms. 

Ye Jiao hadn’t seen Fang-shi in a long time, thus as soon as their eyes met, she greeted her with a smile, “Good morning, Dasao.” Then, she gestured towards the little Shitou, “Shitou, call aunt.”

The little Shitou promptly replied in a crisp voice, “Aunt!”

Fang-shi also smiled and nodded in greeting Ye Jiao, appearing quite amiable, “Mother said that since we’re approaching the end of the year, each family needs to discuss the preparations for the upcoming New Year. So, I came to pick you up to go with you.”

Upon hearing this, Ye Jiao replied, “Dasao, please wait in the small room for a moment. Have some tea to warm up, and I’ll join you shortly.” With that, she swiveled around into the porch and called Xiao Su to come over.

Xiao Su hurriedly trotted before Ye Jiao and greeted, “Second Young Madam.”

“Where did you put the two pots of Jixiang flowers we brought back yesterday?” Ye Jiao asked, scanning her surroundings.

Xiao Su pointed to the side room and said, “Those flowers looked quite delicate, so the Second Young Master asked me to put them in the side room to prevent them from freezing in the courtyard.”

Hearing this, Ye Jiao felt relieved, fortunately, Xianggong was there to keep watch. She had momentarily forgotten about the Jiaxing flowers yesterday night, and if Qi Yun hadn’t given instructions, she might have been unable to keep a single pot after a long night.